This blog is an extension of a long-running conversation on politics between Jon Friedman and Evan Tachovsky, two friends who met at Bogazici Universitesi in Istanbul, Turkey.  

After returning to the States, we kept in contact by e-mailing links to each other and periodically talking on the phone.  We both realized that a blog would be better medium for staying in touch, and thus Politics by Other Means was born.

The title of our blog is a nod to Prussian military theorist Carl von Clausewitz's proclamation that, "war is a continuation of politics by other means."  In our view, War and Politics are simply two manifestations of the same drive for power, with the goal of promoting the interests of a given entity.  With this in mind, we try to evaluate important events from a non-partisan standpoint and identify which policies are most likely to bring results.

Our selection of topics betrays our preference for the Eurasian continent in general and the Islamic world in particular.  It is in this region, stretching from Eastern Europe in the West to Indonesia in the East, that power politics remain highly dynamic and social contracts continue to be challenged.  Our posts are unsigned unless one of us takes a unique stance on an issue. 

We hope that you enjoy reading our blog, and we welcome your comments and criticisms.

- Jon & Evan